Sports

You will not exceed April 24 in power, Members Tell Coaches Association EXCOs

Published

5 years ago

April 13, 2021

Not fewer than twenty aggrieved members of the FCT Coaches Association have vowed to do everything under the law to prevent the present Executive Members of the Association not to stay in power beyond the 24th April date for the election.

Three-man Electoral Committee which was set up to midwive the election of the FCT Football Coaches Association in less than a month ago had resigned following imposition of doctored Electoral Guideline.

The guideline is allegedly in contradiction with the constitutional requirements of the Association which members frowned at.

Some aggrieved members have warned that the present Executive Members of the FCT Football Coaches Association should do everything possible to make sure that election holds on 24 April, 2021 as scheduled. They threatened that they will not allow them spend a day more in office whether or not election is held on the said date. According to them, the Elections have been postponed three times as away for the Executive Members to hold on to power and stay longer than when their tenure had expired.

“All they’re trying to do is to force themselves on FCT Coaches Association.” A worried member told BSN Sports.

“You want to manipulate the election and the electoral Committee who have integrity said they can’t be part of the orchestrated plans to sit tight to power.”

He added, “The election has been postponed for two times and any attempt to postpone it again will not be welcomed. They have spent two years more and nothing stopped them from conducting election after the lockdown. The April 24 date has been set and election must hold on the date. If not, their plans to hold tight to power will not work. They can’t impose themselves on us.

Why are they afraid of election? If they’ve done well, they should test their popularity on 24th. He concluded.

The Godwin Bamigboye-led FCT Coaches Association had spent more years in office as their tenure had expired few years back

BSN

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

21 hours ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.

Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.

In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.

The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.

At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.

According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.

“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.

Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.

He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.

The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.

He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.

“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.

Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.

The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.

According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.

The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.

It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.

The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.

He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.

“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.

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